Wolves captain Conor Coady insists the Premier League side are not in the Europa League “to make up the numbers” after they claimed their first win of the group stage with a 1-0 victory at Besiktas.
Willy Boly struck deep in stoppage time to seal a dramatic win.
Wolves are in the main stage of a European competition for the first time in 39 years, and Coady is determined to make the most of the opportunity.
“We want to compete to win,” he said.
“We’ve said the whole time we’ve been here, we’re not here to make up the numbers, we’re here to have a good go.”
Boly’s goal was his first of the season but he showed great composure after he was picked out inside the box by Ruben Neves, taking a touch before placing a neat finish into the bottom corner.
It was a thrilling end to what had largely been a cagey affair, with Wolves not managing a shot on target until midway through the second half.
Besiktas, meanwhile, went closest to scoring in the first half when a corner deflected off Coady and on to the post.
“Besiktas are a good team, they pushed us, so I’m happy for the boys,” Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo said.
“We worked hard, we were competitive, we were organised and didn’t concede too many chances to Besiktas.”
The result means Wolves have three points from two games in Group K after losing their opener to Sporting Braga at Molineux last month.
They are just one point behind joint leaders Slovan Bratislava and Braga, who drew 2-2 in the group game, and firmly in the hunt for a top-two finish.
This was a long awaited and historic victory for Wolves, who two seasons ago were in the Championship and last played in Europe almost four decades ago.
It will have been particularly special to have come in Istanbul, where Premier League sides have historically struggled in the competition.
Since the Uefa Cup was rebranded the Europa League in 2009, Besiktas have won all three of their home matches against English sides – defeating Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool – and their fans created an intimidating atmosphere from the outset.
Wolves understandably took a cautious approach against their Turkish opponents and first tested Loris Karius in the Besiktas goal in the 67th minute, when Romain Saiss shot straight at the on-loan Liverpool keeper.
But as the game headed into the final 10 minutes, Wolves upped the pressure and Saiss had a strike ruled out for offside.
Nuno’s side did not settle for the point, however, and with seconds left Boly produced a composed finish to snatch all three points and cap a perfect away performance.
After failing to win any of their first six Premier League games, Wolves’ form is now improving. They are unbeaten in four and have now won back-to-back games after beating Watford in the league at the weekend.
